Abstract
Orius spp. are promising natural enemies for control of thrips, harmful insect pests of vegetables. It is, however, extremely difficult to identify adult females of Orius spp. by their appearance. The composition of cuticular hydrocarbons in O. strigicollis, O. minutus and O. sauteri were analyzed by GC-MS. Major components were C27:1 and 2-MeC28 for O. strigicollis, C29:1, 2-MeC28 and 2-MeC30 for O. minutus and 2-MeC28, 2-MeC30 and C33:1+2 for O. sauteri. The unique hydrocarbons were C25:1+2 for O. strigicollis, C29:2 and 2-MeC32 for O. minutus and C33:1+2 and C35:1+2 for O. sauteri. We concluded that it is possible to identify these three species by a difference in composition of components of the cuticular hydrocarbons by GC.
